‘Elephant in the room’: Jordanian women and equal rights
Recognition of ‘Jordanian women’ in the kingdom’s constitution ignited a brawl in parliament and debate over their status under the law.
18 Feb 2022
Amman, Jordan – A political feud in parliament erupted into a fistfight during a discussion to add “Jordanian women” to a constitutional clause on equal rights.
The new amendment, which passed with 94 votes of 120 parliamentarians present last month, changed the title of the constitution’s second chapter to “Rights and duties of Jordanian men and Jordanian women”, adding the feminine pronoun for Jordanians, “al-urduniat”.
Some activists argue the amendment is useless; only an escape route to avoid the real legal changes the constitution needs to properly support women.
“It’s running away from the elephant in the room,” said Salma Nims, the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) secretary-general, referring to continuously neglected demands to add “sex” to Article 6 of the constitution, which now only bans discrimination based on “race, language, and religion”.
Nims added the recent amendment is not legally binding, given the title of a constitutional chapter “has no legal effect”.
Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa Maaytah said in Jordan’s state media that adding “Jordanian women” came in “honour and respect to women”.
Nims questioned Maaytah’s reasoning, responding, “What? I am not asking you to honour me by using a term. It is not about honouring women, this is a constitution, you use it for legal purposes.”